By 2020 the Tees Valley has been transformed. We have rebuilt our economy and our companies are prospering in the European knowledge-driven economy.'

Those few words sum up the objective of the enormous programme of activity and investment in which the Tees Valley Partnership - working with a huge range of partners - is involved.

They are in fact the opening sentences of the vision for the future of our area which was first developed by the Partnership and now lies at the heart of the overall Strategic Framework, guiding the long-term development programme for the whole of the Tees Valley, together with the Government's Northern Way and City Region initiative.

Within that programme Middlesbrough, of course, plays a key role where, together with Stockton, it forms "the cultural and commercial core of this 'city' of over 600,000 people".

Explains Partnership Programme manager Martin Simpson: "What's important to recognise is that the key to the successful regeneration of Middlesbrough is the creation of a vibrant and successful economy right across the Tees Valley.

"Each part of the area has a specific contribution to make.

"For example, we have recognised that Darlington, with its superb access to the main road and rail networks, together with Durham Tees Valley Airport, has tremendous potential to become the 'gateway' to the whole area.

"Clearly there are a range of common challenges - and opportunities - for Hartlepool and the Redcar area which is why we have developed the Coastal Arc programme which seeks to capitalise on their assets. For example the resorts of Seaton Carew, Redcar and Saltburn, and attract new service industries.

"Similarly there are shared opportunities for Middlesbrough and Stockton - underlined by the fact that the two have come together in their joint initiative to drive forward the vision of creating a modern and refreshed city zone based around the two town centres and boosted by the major developments now underway on both the north and south banks of the Tees."

The framework for the delivery of the vision is recognised as one of the most ambitious programmes of economic, social and community regeneration in the UK and it is based on three key themes:

* Creating Sustainable Jobs

* Creating Attractive Places

* Creating Confident Communities

Says Martin Simpson "We know that, whilst the key to our future success is creating a much more diversified and sustainable economy, we have to build on the unique assets we already possess - including a world-class chemicals base and the second largest port operation in the UK.

"Within the framework we have a ten-point plan for driving forward the economy which recognises the need to reinforce our position as a leading chemicals, steel and engineering centre and at the same time encourages developments in new industries - such as renewable energy, environmental technologies and digital media - as well establishing a much stronger service sector presence and providing the education, skills training and support which can encourage a new entrepreneurial culture within the area, with many more people being prepared to set up their own businesses.

"Of course, creating sustainable jobs will not alone create a better future for our area. In fact improving the quality of life - what we describe in the framework as Creating Attractive Places - is vital if we are to make the Tees Valley an area where companies want to locate and invest.

"There have been some major steps forward in recent years, for example in creating new leisure, cultural and shopping facilities - and here Middlesbrough has clearly made big strides forward through the efforts of bodies such as the Town Centre Company - but much remains to be done.

"We have, for example, more than 1,000 hectares of derelict and unused land, there are significant pockets of serious social and economic deprivation, and some 59,000 homes in the Tees Valley - almost a quarter of the total housing stock - is identified as at risk, in other words not places where people want to live.

"In addition we are seeing some important trends in our population pattern. The number of people living in the Tees Valley as a whole is predicted to fall over the next decade but the number of older people will increase. More people are leaving the area than moving in to live and work and in addition there is a shift from 'east to west' - reflected in the increased population of Stockton.

"Within the plan we recognise the urgent need to tackle problems within the local housing market, to carry out a comprehensive programme for reclaiming derelict land and promote better quality design and architecture, as well as improving transport services, including exploring the potential for a new light rapid transit system.

"In many ways Middlesbrough is pointing the way to meeting that challenge to make the Tees Valley a more pleasant and attractive place in which to live and work. Just take a look, for example, at the substantial private sector investment there has been in the town centre over recent years, including, for example, the Captain Cook Square development, the new art gallery and Civic Square, the development of a creative industries quarter christened "BOHO" taking shape around the Queens Square and Exchange Square area, a vital element in the wider Digital City project being championed by the University of Teesside and Middlesbrough Council - and, of course, Middlehaven, one of our area's most important and ambitious regeneration schemes.

"Of course, no one is pretending that we can transform our area overnight, but the framework we now have in place, built upon the Tees Valley Vision, does set out a clear way forward ? and what has already been achieved in Middlesbrough shows that it really is possible to make a difference."